Orthodontic bracket



J. M. RUBIN ORTHODONTIC BRACKET Oct. 6, 1970 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledApril 11, 1968 INVENTOR JAMES M. RUBIN Oct. 6, 1970 J. M. RUBIN3,531,864

ORTHODONTIC BRACKET Filed April 11, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 "1 u m..| '{mnW 46 q f m K INVENYTOR. JAMES M. RUBIN United States Patent 3,531,864ORTHODONTIC BRACKET James M. Rubin, 141 W. 17th St., New York, N.Y.10003 Filed Apr. 11, 1968, Ser. No. 720,643 Int. Cl. A61c 7/00 US. CI.32-14 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An orthodontic bracket forreceiving and mounting an arch wire which includes an arch wireretaining pin which can be readily manipulated for retention and removalof the arch wire and which also may be arranged to be mounted integrallywith the bracket whereby removal of the pin is not required for mountingand removal of the arch wire.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates generally to anorthodontic bracket of the type used in the art of orthodontics in whicha bracket is affixed to a tooth band which encircles the tooth and thebracket receives an arch wire through which corrective forces areapplied to the tooth in order to effect a straightening of the tooth.Orthodontic brackets are well known in the art. However, as will beunderstood by those skilled in the art, the brackets and other apparatusused in orthodontics must be extremely small so as not to discomfort thepatient when worn in the mount during extended periods. Since theorthodontist is performing manipulations in the mouth of the patient, itis also desirable that the apparatus be readily operable and with theminimum number of loose parts. It is also desirable that the brackethave maximum versatility so that it may preferably perform differentfunctions as may be required during the normal extended period ofpatient treatment thereby reducing the necessity for changing apparatusduring treatment as corrective movement of the teeth takes place.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Generally speaking, in accordance with theinvention, a bracket is formed with a rear portion which mounts thebracket to a tooth band and a forwardly extending portion having a slotor bore which receives a pin which extends from the forwardly extendingportion to the rear portion to thereby define an area for receiving thearch wire. The pin is positionable for securing and permitting removalof the arch wire and the bracket may also include means for securingligature wires to the arch wire.

With the foregoing construction, it is possible to provide an effectiveand yet simple bracket which can be easily manipulated to lock intoposition an arch wire and which can be so arranged as to minimize thearea of contact between the bracket assembly and the arch wire tominimize friction to permit relative movement as correctiverepositioning of a tooth takes place and to permit the orthodontist tomore accurately control the directions of forces applied to the tooth.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an improvedorthodontic bracket.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved orthodonticbracket with minimal areas of contact between the bracket and the archwire.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved orthodonticbracket in which the arch wire retaining means remains connected to thebracket portion during arch wire insertion or removal.

Still other objects and advantages of the invention will in part beobvious and will in part be apparent from the specification.

The invention accordingly comprises the features of construction,combinations of elements, and arrangement of parts which will beexemplified in the constructions hereinafter set forth, and the scope ofthe invention will be indicated in the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS For a fuller understanding of theinvention, reference is had to the following description taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of an orthodonticbracket constructed in accordance with the instant invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a partial sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of the instantinvention;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a top plan view of another embodiment of the instantinvention;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a tool useful for manipulating, in thepatients mouth, the pin portion of a bracket constructed in accordancewith the teachings of this invention;

FIG. 8 is a partial top plan View of the bracket of FIG. 1 with an archwire and spring assembled therein;

FIG. 9 is a front elevational view of the bracket assembly shown in FIG.8;

FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken along 10-10 of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of still another embodiment of the instantinvention; and

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a pin suitable for use in the FIG. 11embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to FIGS. 1through 3, a tooth band is indicated generally at 21. It will beunderstood that the various elements are shown at a substantiallyenlarged scale since the apparatus used in orthodontics is so small thatit is often difficult to observe the features of construction with thenaked eye. The bracket of the preferred embodiment of FIGS. 1 through 3is indicated generally at 22 and the bracket is designed for receivingand retaining an arch wire (not shown). Bracket 22 includes rear plates23 and 24 which are permanently secured to tooth band 21, usually bywelding. Projecting forwardly from rear plates 23 and 24 is an upright25 which terminates, at the upper edge thereof, in a knife edge 26. Itis contemplated that the bracket portion shown in FIGS. 1 through 3 maybe fabricated of sheet material, such as stainless steel, and thereby beformed, except for the pin as will hereafter be described, of a singlesheet of material. With such construction, upright 25 would be composedof twO layers secured together, such as by welding, as best seen in FIG.3, with the knife edge being clearly indicated at 26 in FIG. 3.

Extending outwardly from upright 25 is a tube 27 which may also beformed from the single sheet of stainless steel as rear plates 23 and24' and upright 25. In the embodiment of FIGS. 1 through 3, the internalsurface 28 of tube 27 is threaded for receiving the pin portion of thebracket, as will now be described.

Pin 31 has a threaded lower end 32 mounted in tube 27. The upper end 33is bent substantially normal to the axis of the lower end.

Rear plates 23 and 24 define therebetween a recess for receiving theupper end of the pin. The recess is defined by a vertical edge 34 onrear plate 24 and a sloping edge on rear plate 23. As shown in FIG. 2,vertical edge 34 acts as an abutment or stop for the upper end of thepin when the pin is rotated to the closed position, which is theposition shown in FIGS. 1 through 3. Sloping edge 35 also tends toretain the upper end of the pin in the closed position but, because itslopes away, it will permit the pin to ride up and deflect when it isdesired to open the bracket by rotating pin 31 in the normal openingdirection for a right hand thread. The assembly of pin 31 to tube 27 inthe first instance may be accomplished before the upper end of the pinis fully bent to its operative position.

As shown in FIG. 2, with the pin in the closed position, an areaindicated as 36 is defined for receiving an arch wire. In order toinsert the arch wire in area 36 or remove it therefrom, it is onlynecessary to rotate pin 32 through 90 whereby the longitudinal axis ofthe upper end of the pin extends parallel to rear plates 23 and 24,rather than perpendicular thereto. In such position, area 36 will befully accessible for mounting or removal of the arch wire. With the archwire in place, the pin is rotated 90 whereby the upper end of the pin isretained between vertical edge 34 and sloping edge 35. The orthodontistmay remove or replace or manipulate the arch wire as often as desired bymerely rotating pin 31 and he need not be concerned with loose bracketparts. Once the pin is properly closed, it will not open inadvertently.

With the aforesaid construction, the arch wire, which is generallycircular, can effect point contact with the bracket. On the bottom, itwill engage knife edge 26 with the point contact resulting fromtangential engagement between a line and a circle. On the front side,the circular arch wire will engage the surface of the circular pin forpoint contact and the same is true on the top side of the arch wire. Forpoint contact at the rear side, the leading edges of rear plates 23 and24 may be formed at joint 39 into a knife edge (not shown) similar toknife edge 26.

In manipulating pin 31, a tool 41 such as is shown in FIG. 7 may beespecially useful. A rod 43 extends from the handle portion 42 at aangle and a slot 44 is provided at the outer end of rod 43 so thatduring rotation of pin 31 through the 90 required to fully open andfully close arch wire receiving area 36, the tool can be manipulated toeither side 45 left or right of center to minimize obstruction of thetool by the cheeks and mouth of the patient.

Referring now to FIGS. 4 and 5, an alternate construction of the bracketis shown. In the construction of FIGS. 4 and 5, the bracket is formed ofa rear plate 23, rear plate 24 and upright 25 substantially as describedin connection with FIGS. 1 through 3. The tube 45, while being similarto tube 27, is nonthreaded and the upper end 46 thereof is below thelevel of knife edge 26 as best seen in FIG. 5. A pin 47 is received intube 45 and is provided with a headed lower end 48. The upper end 49 ofpin 47 is bent with its longitudinal axis substantially normal to thelongitudinal axis of the portion of the pin passing through tube 45. Pin47 may be assembled through tube 45 before the upper end thereof is bentto position since head 45, which may be formed integrally with the pin,would prevent mounting of the pin in the tube via the head end.

Head 48 limits the upward movement of pin 47 in tube 45. A suitablecollar 51 frictionally engages around pin 47 so as to limit the downwardmovement of the pin in the tube and thereby properly position the pinfor effective operation of the bracket.

Rear plates 23 and 24 are preferably provided with the edges 35 and 34,respectively, whereby the pin will be retained in the closed position aspreviously described in connection with the embodiments of FIGS. 1through 3. As shown in FIG. 5, with pin 47 in the closed position, anarea indicated as 52 is defined for receiving the arch wire. The pointcontact for a circular arch wire described in connection with theembodiment of FIGS. 1 through 3 holds equally with respect to theembodiment of FIGS. 4 and 5.

Note that, in FIG. 4, a pair of ligating loops 53 are shown as beingformed as part of rear plates 23- and 24. The ligating loops may beincluding as part of any of the brackets disclosed and described in thisapplication and the formation of the bracket from sheet material lendsit easily adaptable for formation of integral ligating loops. Thefunction performed by ligating loops and the ligature wires anchoredtherein are well known in the art and require no further description.

Referring to FIG. 6, a bracket 55 is shown as being formed of rearplates 56, 57 and 58, two uprights 59 and 61 and two tubes 62 and 63respectively extending from uprights 59 and 61. Pins are not shown asmounted in the tubes for the sake of clarity. The primary differencebetween the FIG. 6 bracket and the brackets previously described is thattwo positions are provided for receiving and mounting an arch wire on asingle tooth. In certain applications, such an arrangement may beespecially useful and the miniaturization capable with a bracketconstructed in accordance with the teachings of this invention make itpossible to provide two independent mounting points for an arch wire ona single tooth. The tubes 62 and 63 may be threaded to receive a pinsuch as pin 31 or may be arranged to receive a pin such as pin 47 or,for that matter, any other type of pin that will perform the function ofretaining an arch wire.

In FIGS. 8 through 10, there is depicted a bracket 22 of the type shownin FIGS. 1 through 3 including a threaded pin 31. The disclosure ofFIGS. 8 through 10 indicates how a bracket might appear in use with anarch wire 64 mounted therein. With the bracket of the instant invention,the orthodontist can readily apply a biasing force between the bracketand the arch wire by the provision of a spring 65 which requires noadditional mounting means. The spring can be formed with a loop 66overfitting pin 31 and one end 67 of the spring may be biased intocontact with a rear plate while the other end is wrapped around orengages the arch wire to provide the desired biasing force.

The bracket of the instant invention is also useful with a nonrotatablepin and, with such an arrangement, the embodiment shown in FIGS. 11 and12 would be preferred. The bracket, preferably formed of sheet material,would include rear plates 71 and 72 welded to a tooth band 21 and anupright 73 having a knife edge 74 would extend outwardly from the rearplates and terminate at a. tube 75. The cross-sectional configuration ofthe passage through tube 75 would depend on the cross-sectionalconfiguration of the pin to be received therein. It would be noncircularto avoid relative rotation between the tube and the pin and it could besquare, rectangular or oval. A rectangular configuration is shown in theembodiment of FIGS. 11 and 1'2. A pin 76 having the same generalcross-sectional configuration as that of the passage through tube 75will normally be formed as an inverted J shown in FIG. 12 so that theshort leg 77 may be received in a slot 78 between rear plates 71 and 72and the long leg 79 will be insertable through tube 75 after an archwire has been mounted in position.

Pin 76 would be formed of a soft material such as soft stainless steelor soft brass whereby, after the pin had been properly positioned toretain an arch wire (not shown) it would be bent as indicated at 81 inFIG. 11 to retain the pin within the tube. Since the pin is of softmaterial, it can be easily unbent when it is desired to remove ormanipulate the arch wire and the pin can be bent and unbent severaltimes before it work hardens whereafter it can be discarded and anotherused in its place.

The brackets heretofore described are especially suited for coating witha tooth colored polyvinyl material which would be especially desirablein the treatment of adults, which is increasing daily.

The embodiments disclosed herein represent only a few of theconfigurations of brackets, including the pins therefor, that can bedeveloped from the principles of the instant invention. The basicconcept, is the provision of plates or other means secured to the toothband which will support a tube in spaced relation so that a pin mayextend between the tube and the plates for defining an arch wirereceiving area.

It will thus be seen that the objects set forth above, among those madeapparent from the preceding description, are etiiciently attained and,since certain changes may be made in the above constructions Withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention, it is intendedthat all matter contained in the above description or shown in theaccompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in alimiting sense.

What is claimed is:

1. An orthodontic bracket comprising a tube having a passage therein, atleast one plate for securing said bracket to a tooth band, a spacerextending between said tube and said plate and having an upper edge, anda pin moveably mounted in said passage and having a portion thereofextending toward said plate in spaced relation to said upper edge, saidplate including means for retaining a portion of said pin, said pinextending through said tube and being provided with a headed lower endand a collar mounted thereon in engagement with said tube whereby saidheaded end and said collar retain said pin in said tube, said pin beingrotatable in said tube for rotation between a position whereby saidportion thereof extends toward said plate to a position whereby saidportion thereof extends substantially parallel to said plate.

2. An orthodontic bracket comprising a tube having a passage therein, atleast one plate for securing said bracket to a tooth band, a spacerextending between said tube and said plate and having an upper edge, anda pin moveably mounted in said passage and having a portion thereofextending toward said plate in spaced relation to said upper edge, saidplate including means for retaining a portion of said pin, saidretaining means comprising a groove in sad plate for releasablyreceiving at least one end of said pin, said groove being generallyV-shaped and being defined by a generally vertical edge which acts as astop for an end of said pin and a generally sloping edge for cammingsaid end of said pin into and out of said groove.

3. An orthodontic bracket as claimed in claim 2 wherein said pin isthreadedly engaged in said tube passage and said pin is rotatable from aposition whereby said portion thereof extends toward said plate to aposition whereby said portion thereof extends substantially parallel tosaid plate.

4. An orthodontic bracket as claimed in claim 2 wherein said pin has thegeneral configuration of an inverted I with the long leg thereofextending through said tube passage and the short leg thereof receivedby said retaining means, the outer end of said long leg behind bendableout of alignment with the longitudinal axis of said passage forretaining said pin in said tube.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 941,840 11/1909 Aderer 32-143,085,336 4/1963 Kesling 32-14 3,093,903 6/1963 Kesling 32-14 2,196,5164/ 1940 Atkinson 32-14 3,134,171 5/1964 Kessler 32-14 3,435,527 4/1969Kesling 32-14 ROBERT PESHOCK, Primary Examiner

